I started going through my cooking utensils the other day, and realized I have three metal spatulas. Not a big deal, seems like I have three of everything (sadly), but I rarely use them since most of my cookware is teflon coated. I only use them when making cookies or using a metal pan, and then lets face it, I only have two hands, one to hold the pan and one to hold the spatula... so why three? I picked the nicest of the three and put the other two in the Goodwill box. That led me to going through the rest of the utensils and pairing down on those too.
Then today - - I was cleaning a nasty spill off a refrigerator shelf (finally took it and soaked it in the sink, but then the one below needed cleaning too I noticed) and needed something to scrape with. Thus, I grabbed the metal spatula. Then I got "that" feeling - - OH no, what if I am making cookies and need to clean a shelf, should I have more than one of those??? Of COURSE I need to clean the fridge every time I am making cookies (NOT!) Oh my, what an Aha moment for me! This is the kind of thinking that got me into the clutter I am up to my chin in, in the first place!!! So NO, I didn't go and get another spatula back out of the Goodwill box (yeah!!!).
-----------
The other thing, unrelated somewhat to the spatulas, was what we did for lunch yesterday. We went to a friend's house, a friend who is extremely organized and lives simply. God is good. He didn't leave me feeling envy, but rather feeling motivated and with a clear vision of what I need to strive for. Today I'm working towards that. Slowly, as with my kiddos there is always something; we spent the morning taking Ana to the doctor because of sore throat and sore breathing (she has the "flu") and I wanted to rule out anything that needed antibiotics, being that it is the start of the weekend and it would be hard to get in Sat/Sun. But, I am working.
Some days, the job seems like a mountain way too hard to tackle, but when I think of Mo's house, it motivates me to keep on. In fact, there is an item on my kitchen cabinets (we have open tops, and I have decorative things there) that always needs dusting, and isn't even that pretty. Goodbye to it, as when I click "publish post" in a second, I'm getting up there and getting it down to go in the box. The bye-bye box.
Here's a photo (to the left, above) of one cabinet that looks now more like one of Mo's than one of mine. Praise God! OK, it is the cabinet where we keep all medicines taken on a daily basis, and the "electrical" stuff for cooking. It is MUCH improved (Mo, did you by chance see it when you were here at Christmas? It's the one in the corner, in the kitchen.)
------------
One more thing, if anyone else (I know my friends who read this are mostly also working on the un-cluttering of their homes and lives) has any "aha" moments to share, like the spatula one, would you please, by leaving comments? Maybe we can motivate each other some more!
Laura
Just one idea that I have tried, Laura. I heard somewhere (or read it) that you should remove all the kitchen utensils from that overcrowded drawer that we all have, and put them in a box. Then, take out of the box the things you use for a week or two, and return to the drawer. I tried it and it was very surprising----I eliminated all the things that were still in my box after a couple of weeks. :)
ReplyDeleteFor the girls' rooms I asked them if they had played with something in the last year. If they said no, into the goodwill pile it went. I am planning on doing kitchen cabinets tomorrow and if I have not used something in the last year into the pile it goes. I have so many gadgets that I have not and probably never will use. My plan is to have room in cabinets to store things that are now on the counters and have more counter space!
ReplyDeleteI'm better than used to be, but I have a habit of starting crafty projects and when they get hard, I put them down and never finish. But, I think "someday" I will finish it, so I don't just get rid of it. A friend asked me once why I would want a reminder around of things I didn't finish, a failure of sorts. That was one of my aha moments - it helped me to get rid of projects that I no longer care about without feeling guilty. Or only feeling guilty while throwing it away instead of every time I see it. Freedom!
ReplyDelete